Credit: Paul Farhi / The Washington Post)
ATMORE, ALABAMA — When Don Fletcher checked the mailbox outside his newspaper’s office on Main Street in late September, he found a little gold mine waiting for him.
Folded up inside was a copy of a grand-jury subpoena served on two employees of the local school system. The confidential document indicated that a criminal investigation into potential financial abuse was underway — a solid lead for a veteran reporter like Fletcher.
It took a couple of weeks to confirm, but Fletcher soon broke the news in the weekly Atmore News that officials were probing the Escambia County Board of Education’s handling of federal covid-19 relief funds. What happened next, though, lifted Fletcher’s story far beyond this town nestled amid cotton fields north of the Florida panhandle.
Days later, the local […]
No one in power likes investigative Journalists. They are always a thorn in their side. An interesting article, paralleling Julian Assange case. Arresting Journalists is powerful stuff, think about that. It turned out better for these small town journalists, but as the article states: ““It’s open season on journalists,” said Kathy Kiely, a University of Missouri journalism professor who specializes in media-law issues.” This is true on many levels. The fate of Julian Assange will tell us a lot about the course of our society in the future. Many of us watch carefully and wait. Will those in power do the right thing?